Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro – The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian

Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro

The Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro has the following measures: 75 meters of external height and 64 meters of internal height, 106 meters of external diameter and 96 of internal diameter, each stained glass window: 64.50 x 17.80 x 9.60 meters; An area of ​​8,000 m2, with a capacity to house 20,000 people standing or 5,000 people seated.

Like all Catholic churches, the Cathedral Rio de Janeiro also has the cross as its symbol. It is not just the cross that hangs a few meters above the main altar, supported by six steel cables. The cross that imposes itself is that which is at the origin of the project: a Greek cross, of vast proportions and made of transparent material, in the center and filling an immense circle, thirty meters in diameter, an expressive symbol of the presence of Christ among men.

How to join the circle and the cross was the challenge faced with the outline of the Cathedral Rio de Janeiro, because of the style so different from all the churches, but built according to conventional standards. And this challenge found inspiration in the pyramid that the Mayas built on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. At the base, the pyramid is square and wide, but narrows as it rises, until it takes on the top the shape of a plateau.

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Unlike the pyramids of the Maya, it has a circular and conical shape to signify the equidistance and proximity of the people to God, also remembering the miter used by the bishops in the most solemn ceremonies; God, as it “descends” from the heights to meet man, It is symbolized by the light which spreads from the four arms of the cross.

It has the most light from the ceiling and has its extension in the four stained glass that connect to the porticos. Here the believers are welcomed by the Christ who was sent by the Father, died and rose again for our salvation, instituted the Church and sent the Holy Spirit.

The four stained glass windows, which give us the impression of being surrounded by concrete wires, are also an affirmation of the faith that is in the origin and the greater purpose of the Cathedral and are positioned according to the cardinal points. They symbolize the four characteristic features of the Church: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

One

We are the Flock of the Lord, our only Shepherd, whose Word is the referential of life. The characteristic of the Church – One – is represented by the Good Shepherd that appears in the green stained glass, also in front of who enters the main portico. In this stained glass are seen other symbols that lead to the idea of ​​unity of faith: the Bible, the Miter of the bishops, the Tiara of the Pope and the Chalice of Salvation with the Consecrated Host.

Holy

The Church is holy because the Lord Jesus Christ, has instituted it, but it is also sinful because we, its members, are imperfect. The stained glass that represents the characteristic of the Church – Holy – is to the right of who enters the Cathedral and includes Saint Joseph and Our Lady among other saints. The color that predominates is red, the same color that symbolizes the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity (heading west).


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Catholic

All people (four races), indistinctly, are called to be members of the Church of Christ. The third characteristic of the Church – Catholic – is stamped on the stained glass above the main entrance porch, with predominance of blue color. The catholicity of the Church, that is, its universality, is expressed in the various races (white, red, black and yellow) that the stained glass has at its bottom. Further up are the symbols of the four evangelists (the lion: St. Mark, the bull: St. Luke, the young man: St. Matthew and the eagle: St. John) and the earth globe surmounted by the cross.

Apostolic

Established by Christ, the Church honors St. Peter as the first Pope, whose successors occupy his chair in Rome as vicars of Christ on earth, with Bishops as direct collaborators, since they are successors of the other Apostles and must shepherd the flock entrusted to them In communion with the successor of Peter. The stained glass that represents the fourth characteristic of the Church – Apostolic – is to the left of who enters the Cathedral Rio de Janeiro.

On shades of yellow background appears St. Peter with the keys; Below, two characters symbolizing the successors of Peter (Pope) and the other apostles (bishop); Higher up can be seen the instruments of the passion of Christ, especially the cross on which He died and from which hangs the sheet in which his body was wrapped. The sheet is M-shaped to remind the special participation of Mary, mother of Jesus, in the mystery of the Redemption operated by her son (eastward).

CATHEDRAL HISTORY – The history of the Cathedral from the foundation stone to the present day

Founded in 1676 by the Bull of Pope Innocent XI, the Diocese, and later the Archdiocese of São Sebastião. In the first 58 years of its history, it settled in the little church that the governor had ordered to do of adobes, with three naves, in Morro do Castelo.

In 1734, the Cathedral was transferred from Morro do Castelo to the church of Santa Cruz dos Militares, where it remained only three years. Then moved to the church of Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Benedict of the Black Men, and stayed there until the arrival of the Royal Family in 1808, when the Prince Regent of Portugal, Dom João VI, made the church Our Lady of Carmo, his Royal Chapel, soon elevated, by him also, to the category of Cathedral.

It was only after many painful efforts that the Archdiocese succeeded in having the then State of Guanabara ceded to it a land on which the Cathedral was erected, which had its foundation stone blessed and launched by D. Jaime de Barros Câmara on January 20, 1964 , Being Supreme Pontiff SS Pope Paul VI.

In 1972, Cardinal Eugenio de Araujo Sales (successor of D. Jaime, who died on February 18, 1971), was able to celebrate the Christmas Mass in the new Church. On November 16, 1976, the Year of the Tricentenary of the Archdiocese, His Eminence celebrated the high altar of the Cathedral of St. Sebastian, and on August 15, when he celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his episcopal ordination, he made the Solemn dedication of the New Temple, which can be considered the true mark of its inauguration.

On November 20, 1976, Cardinal Archbishop Eugenio de Araujo Sales appointed Cura of the Cathedral of St. Sebastian the tireless entrepreneur of the construction of the new Cathedral Monsignor Ivo Antonio Calliari, and on December 28, 1983, he was appointed Parish Priest Of the Parish of the Cathedral of St. Sebastian.

On July 2, 1980, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, on his first visit to Brazil, presided over a solemn ceremony with the Bishops of CELAM, who celebrated the Silver Jubilee. And on October 4, 1997, His Holiness presided at a solemn Mass, concelebrated by more than 500 bishops from all over the world and by more than 1,000 priests and thousands attended on the occasion of the “Second World Meeting of the Pope with Families”, consolidating it definitively, as a landmark of modern architecture and bold, imposing and functional, distinguished by its noble simplicity.